" Giles, what Am I doing here?" There was static, then Giles spoke back.
" I'm not really sure. I just read something about an important event on this day."
"Could you be any more vague?" She asked. She put the walkie talkie on the ground and shone her flashlight across the feild. Nothing was there.
There was a cracking sound behind her, and her entire body tensed. She was almost possitive it was Angel, but she had to remind herself that Spike had killed Angel to save her life.
" Buffy." The voice whispered. She smiled happily and turned to face him.
" Hey Spike, how did you find me?"
" Were you hiding?" He asked with a smile.
" Nope." Buffy stood, as best she could under the bleachers and looked at him.
" How are you feeling?" He asked.
" Better."
" Good." He replied bluntly.
" I never did thank you for saving my life." She got up to where he was and could stand properly again.
" You didn't have to." Spike touched her cheek.
Buffy shivered.
" You're cold." He said.
" Yeah, I guess I am." He put his arms around her and pulled her close. She felt warmer right away.
" What are you doing her anyway?"
Buffy shrugged.
" Slayer duty, one of the many joys of my highly 'normal' life." Spike rested his head against hers.
" Like me, right?" She paused for a moment.
" Kiss me." She said finally.
" My pleasure." He lowered his head and kissed her. First softly, then with more intensity. He kissed her neck and stopped. His mouth tingled. Spike froze and pushed her away.
" What is it?" She asked. He was about to respond, but a rumbling in the ground stopped him.
The whole feild seemed to shift. Buffy stumbled, not prepared for it, and Spike caught her. They both looked to the track as it split open and a beam of pure, bright light shot into the sky. When the light was gone, everything had returned to normal. The track, the sky. Spike raised an eyebrow, but failed to be impressed.
" What the hell was that?" Buffy asked, mostly to herself. He looked at her, then at the feild.
" That was a return, pet."
" A return?"
" The resurrection of a fallen vampire. Once every hundred years, one vampire can be brought back from the dead."
Buffy swallowed hard. " Who?" She asked, knowing the answer.
" Your best bet. . . Angel."
She looked at him. " No." Her voice was shaking.
Spike put his arm around her and ignored his growing hunger. She would find out the truth soon, but he wouldn't be the one to tell her. The truth was, if it was Angel, he would have his soul again.
Spike didn't want to lose Buffy so soon after she'd re-awakened his heart.
She sat up in bed.
Was she in love again? With Spike? Buffy stood up and walked to the window. It was where she and Angel first kissed, where they'd kissed many times after. She pressed her hand and head to the glass amd closed her eyes. When she opened her eyes again, she saw a hand on the other side of the glass lined up with hers. She blinked and looked up to see Angel. Thinking she was crazy, she looked away. When she looked back, she could see finger prints on the glass.
" A resurrection, you say?" Giles asked, flipping through a large, leather bound book.
" Mmm-hmm." Buffy replied.
" You know what I do when this happens?" Oz asked.
Willow, Xander, Cordelia, Giles and Buffy all looked over at him.
" What?" Xander asked.
" Well, to tell you the truth, this has never happened to me, I was just trying to warm it up in here." Buffy rested her head on her crossed arms.
" You ok?" Willow asked.
She sighed and shook her head. " I love them both."
Xander looked over at her. " Are you nuts!? Angel and Spike? Both have no souls. Both are demons. But most importantly, both have tried to kill me!" He coughed a little. " That must tell you something."
" I've tried to kill you." Oz said.
" You," Xander said, "Wolf Boy, you stay out of this"
Oz shrugged and remained in his seat by Willow.
" Xander," Buffy said, "you aren't helping."
She stood. " If Angel really is back, I have to find him." With that she left the library, Giles still looking things up.
Angel.
" Buffy." He said, looking at her and crossing his arms.
" Angel." She replied. " You're alive."
" No. Nobody who's two hundred and forty could ever be alive. The term you are searching for is 'un-dead', and now that you know, I think you may consider leaving before it applies to you."
She blinked, unsure what she expected him to say. Then, he closed the door in her face, and she knew her choice was made. Walking up the stairs, she left him. When she left, Angel rested his head against the door.
" I love you, Buffy."
" Can I help you?"
" Is Buffy in?" He asked, charming her slightly with his accent. But she still looked at him funny. " I'm replacing Angel as her tutor. Name's Spike." He offered his hand and she shook it.
" Spike?"
" Oh, it's an nick-name. My real name is William."
She smiled, finally. " Come in."
" Why thank you." He replied, stepping inside.
" Buffy! You have a guest."
Spike smiled at her, forcefully, because the woman agrivated him. But his smile grew when Buffy appeared at the top of the stairs. Her first look was that of surprise, then she returned his smile.
" Spike." She said, coming down the stairs. Giving her mother a 'look' Joyce exited the room, but hovered nearby. Spike whispered his excuse to her so they wouldn't get messed up.
" Mom, Spike and I are going to the library."
" Midnight, Buffy!" Her mother reminded. " It's a school night." She watched them leave. " Spike." Joyce muttered.
" It isn't funny." Buffy insisted and Spike chuckled.
" Yes it is, love, it is."
He caught himself say 'love' as Buffy obviously did as well, because they just stared for a moment, until she leaned into him and they kissed in the moonlight. It was all going well, until Spike's mouth began to tingle, and then without warning, he bit down on her lip. Buffy yelped and jumped back, then touched her lip and looked at the blood, then back at a wide-eyed Spike.
" Buffy I am so sorry. It was an accident. I don't know what happened."
" You are what you are, Spike." She said it, and then ran from him.
" Welcome to my parlor, lover." Angel whispered deviously. She looked at him.
" Not tonight, Angel."
" What's the matter? All's not well with the Slayer and the Vamp?"
She wondered how Angel knew. " Leave me alone?"
" Or what? I get the stake? Oooooh, ahhhhhh, I'm quaking in my boots."
Buffy pulled a stake from her jacket and glared at him.
" I warned you."
She jumped forward and kicked him in the ribs. He kicked her harder and she stumbled, then regained balance. They were fifteen minutes into fighting, when she finally tried to use the stake. Angel pushed her arm up, and the resulting possition was a tangle of arms and legs on the ground. She stopped fighting and wriggling to look at him, and when she did, he looked back and kissed her, hard. Like he was trying to make up for lost time.
When Buffy found her feet again, she was even more confused, " You've broken my heart before Angel. No more games, no more." Buffy dropped the stake and ran from Angel as she'd run from Spike.
Only now, she was running to Spike.
" Spike," She said as he stood, speaking very fast, "I saw Angel, he's back, and his soul, I think in part that's back too." Spike's face fell. " But when he kissed me, I knew who I should be with."
He looked at her. " Him?"
" Part of me will always love Angel, but I bigger part of me. . . a bigger part of me loves you."
His eyes sparkled. " I," He paused, never imagining he'd say the words again, " I love you too."
And so it came that Spike's heart and soul were stirred once more. By a Slayer, none the less.
